dark devotion ≫ a.b.

9 - Answers

When I wake up the next morning I hear the rain beating down on the roof of the tent and I am once again cold. Andy's gone.

My dress is basically ruined now. I never had the chance to change like Jinxx told me I should. Lily and Meg will be so disappointed that I messed up my date clothes. I nearly groan out loud. What if I never see my best friends again? There's no way I could live without them.

I feel someone watching me and I sit up sharply. Jinxx catches me looking and he turns to watch the steady fall of the rain. He coughs to clear his throat.

"Good morning."

"Hi." I look around and notice that we're alone. "Um where are the others?"

"The boys went hunting for food and my sister trains non-stop."

"Oh."

A long silence.

"Quinn," he says, barely loud enough for me to hear. "You had a lot of questions yesterday and they need to be answered."

"I couldn't agree more," I respond, nodding.

Without making eye contact he mutters, "Come with me."

***

The Mystic takes me to another tent filled with shelves and shelves of books. I am tempted to rush to them and inspect each with interest as I did Andy's room, but I can never be too careful now. I'm guessing this is the library in camp. Even in the middle of deserts there are libraries. There can be hope in the most hopeless places.

He sits down in a comfy looking chair, crosses his legs and gestures to a beanbag across from him. What is this? A therapy session? I obey anyways.

"I think we'll start off with your power. You've obviously discovered that you have the ability to manipulate fire. We still don't know what else you can possibly do," he explains. "Your mother is human. Your father... well, I'm not exactly clear on that."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm The Mystic," he says, shrugging. "I can read minds. I'm more powerful than any demon or angel. More powerful than the rest of the Wild Ones." So the Wild Ones is what the Black Veil Brides call themselves.

"So if you guys aren't fallen angels, you must be pure angels."

His dark smile twists my stomach. "No, no," he chuckles. "We're much worse."

My heart sinks. Could they all be demons?

"And to answer your question, no. We're not all demons," he states. "Can you please refrain from doing that?" I mutter, rubbing my temples. Jinxx just rolls his blue eyes. "Demons don't usually have powers. It's very rare. Alara has powers a bit similar to mine only because she is my twin, but she is still a demon. Ashley, Andy, and CC are also demons, but powerless ones."

Someone's been left out. "What about Jake?" I inquire.

"A fallen angel," he replies. I squint in confusion. "But I thought none of you guys were fallen angels."

"Well he's a spy for us. That's why he's away from the Wild Ones' camp most of the time."

I nod. "Why did Gerard and Ivy show so much interest in me?" I try opening my mind, letting Jinxx to see inside. Maybe he can look back at what happened with them and me.

"You're a mystery. None of us can yet tell what you are but we can all see that you're of great value. Perhaps that was why they showed such interest in you," he ponders.

"And Gerard and Ivy are fallen angels?"

"Yes."

"Tell me more about fallen angels."

"For one thing, they're our sworn enemies. It makes us worry that they haven't attempted a massacre on us in a while. Unlike the Shadows, who constantly try to invade." That clears up a little bit of fog. That would explain Gee-- no, Gerard's-- weird behavior. So he must want to hurt me. I cringe, thinking of how I let him touch me, thinking it was innocent at the time but it's entirely different now.

"Why would my power be useful to them?"

"Because he was going to try to turn you into a fallen angel. They can do that by biting you. The most effective way is your neck."

My hand instinctively flies to my neck, protecting it from an nonexistent enemy. Jinxx notices and I silently scold myself for being so obvious. He eyes me suspiciously.

"Has he ever made an attempt to get physically close to you?" He says, sounding concerned. I recall the time Gerard was so close to me that I thought he would kiss me. That he actually had feelings for me.

No, of course that wasn't possible. Now that Jinxx has told me all this, he was probably only trying to turn me into a fallen angel. By trying to seduce me. As much as I don't want him to like me, I still feel a pang of disappointment.

Another thing I wonder about pops up in my mind. "Is there any way to tell if someone is a fallen angel?"

Jinxx shifts, almost like he's uncomfortable upon hearing it. After a moment he responds, "Their eyes will turn red if they feel strong emotions. That's something significant you can point out. Demons eyes will change colors every few seconds if they're looking at someone they love."

My suspicions are confirmed. Then what was Gerard feeling when he leaned into me? Hate? Anger? Possibly love? I need to stop getting my hopes up that someone would actually love me. Moving on to the next question.

"Why are Alara's eyes black?"

"Story for another time." He said it so quick, like a lion swatting away a small animal. Obviously touchy for him.

"How come Alara isn't a part of Black Veil Brides?"

His eyebrows raise, elongating the sliver scar on the left side of his face. "Oh and how do you know about BVB?"

I bite the inside of my mouth. Shouldn't have brought that up. I don't want him knowing I watched all of their videos, listened to all their albums, and kinda, sorta sweeped the internet looking for any information on them that I could find. "Andy's shirt," I half-lie, hoping I sounded as smooth as I willed myself to.

He "mmm"s disbelievingly.

He opens his mouth and a scream comes out. But the sound didn't come out of Jinxx's mouth. It was high and obviously female. He dashes out of the tent, faster than I've ever seen before. Even running away from a Shadow. I join him outside.

At the entrance of camp is CC and Ashley. Carrying something. Carrying someone.

Oh no. It's Andy.

The scream came from Alara, who runs to the boys. "What happened?" she shrieks.

Ashley tosses his damp black hair out of his face and sputters, "Andy. He--He's been shot."

A/n hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A lot shorter than the last one tho :/ I know I made fallen angels bad in this, opposing the song by BVB but I just wanted to put a twist on things ya know?
chapter published: February 8, 2017
Song: Happy Song - Bring Me The Horizon